[thread; closed]

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Characters: Cloud and Tifa
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: They finally reunite
Location: Lindblum
Date: November 1803
Warnings: Wibbles! Oh, the wibbles!!


Saying he was excited was an understatement. Cloud hadn't seen Tifa in a long time, well it seemed long to him, and getting to finally see her in person, and maybe even give her a hug was worth the wait. Waiting in the inn wasn't exactly fun, though. There were drunks and people getting rowdy, and whilst Cloud wasn't exactly the most collected of people, he didn't want to get dragged into any bar fights.

Shifting in his seat, with his back to the door, Cloud sipped his glass of water and continued flicking through his phone. Not his Sky Phone, but the one he usually carried. He tended to keep it switched off and occasionally switch it on to look at the pictures. He did wonder if he could transfer those onto his Sky Phone but he hadn't figured that out yet.

Either way, he'd have to think of something, soon. There was only half of the battery life left. Letting his gaze linger on a picture of Marlene and Denzel through his sunglasses, Cloud sighed slightly. He wanted to be sure they were safe. They might not have been his blood relatives, but whether he'd admit it or not, Marlene and Denzel were his daughter and son.

Comments

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

It was the same for Tifa, of course. She hadn't seen Cloud in a long time either. So when Irvine and Selphie dropped her off in Lindblum, she hurried to the inn as fast as she could. They had so much to discuss - not least the little girl trapped somewhere in Midgar. Tifa hadn't recognised her at all. It felt profoundly odd to be addressed by name by a complete stranger.

But Cloud knew her, and one day, Tifa would know her too. Maybe even see her as a daughter. It didn't matter. She couldn't in good conscience leave someone in trouble to die.

But when she stepped into the inn and saw the back of Cloud's spiky head, all her worries left her. In that moment, she felt only joy and relief.

"Cloud!"

She rushed over to him, a big smile on her face, wanting to be swept into his arms once again.

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

At his name, Cloud looked over his shoulder quickly, pulling off his sunglasses. A smile, however faint, was evident on his face and the blonde stood, pocketing both the glasses and phone, instantly closing the gap between himself and Tifa.

"Tifa."

Her name came out soft as he pulled her against him, his hands settling on her back whilst his head dipped to nestle against her neck. The scent of her skin and hair was just safety for him. Home. Her.

However, his embrace was swiftly ended as he took a step back, his hands curling around her biceps. "Are you all right?"

It was now, however, that Tifa would be able to see the few scrapes he'd taken during his encounter with Sephiroth. A few cuts here, a few bruises there, but they stood out on his pale skin.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa embraced Cloud tightly, burying her face against his shoulder. This world had forced them apart twice. She wouldn't let it happen again.

Looking up at him, she nodded. "I'm fine." But her eyes immediately widened as she saw his injuries. "But you're not. What happened, Cloud? Did you...?"

She paused, compressing her lips. Was it... Sephiroth? But he didn't look that hurt...

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

"I'm okay. Sephiroth and I... talked." Talked, yeah, that'd work. Well, they did talk. Then Cloud spilled his guts and the inevitable happened. Either way, he didn't need to explain it.

Tilting his head to the side, Cloud frowned. "We need to find Shelke. She's stuck somewhere..." Where, was the point though. He didn't know. She wasn't using a Sky Phone...

Cloud's hands slipped loose from his grasp on Tifa's arms, dropping to hang at his sides. He felt useless. Shelke was in trouble, a girl he considered a close friend, possibly a daughter if she was younger, and he couldn't save her.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa wasn't buying that for a second. "Then how did you get those cuts?"

He was trying to change the subject, bringing up Shelke. Tifa nodded when he mentioned her, but she wasn't going to let him get away with fobbing her off. She folded her arms, frowning.

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud shrugged, crossing his arms. That look, ugh, that look... It was enough to melt ice and burn flesh sometimes. That critical gaze that just told you that she didn't believe a damn word you were saying.

With a sigh, he looked down at his boots, very much the scolded child. "Sephiroth." Simple answer, and Tifa was smart enough to fill in the rest.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"I thought so. Is he... still sane?"

She could have scolded him for getting into a needless battle, but honestly Tifa thought that if she herself encountered Sephiroth, sane or not, she wouldn't be able to resist punching him in the face either. Nothing could inspire more fear and hate than Sephiroth's smirking face.

"And where is he now?" she added. "He's a danger to everyone. What if he follows us to Midgar?"

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud gave a slight shrug. "I think he's... more interested in getting answers from Rufus Shinra. It's not the same as before. There isn't Jenova to see or any books to read. He doesn't know about Lucrecia Cresent... and as far as I know he's going to Dollet."

The man sighed, shaking his head a little. "He's not insane... not yet. If he snaps, I'll fix it. It's my problem. My battle." He would face Sephiroth again and again until the man finally stayed dead.

"Shelke is more important right now. She's might be older than she looks but she can't survive on her own." Cloud openly looked worried, now. He cared about Shelke deeply and wherever she was the moogles couldn't reach her, which meant she was in danger.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa nodded. "Okay." She trusted Cloud. She just needed to hear an explanation from him.

And now they were back to Shelke. "Yeah... you're right. We have to go and rescue her." She shook her head, smiling wryly. "Midgar... Seems like I'm always drawn back to Midgar."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

"Yeah... it does seem like Midgar keeps drawing the people from the Planet..." He'd seen many of them head that way or be dropped into this world there. He'd been there. Zack had been there. Red XIII... and even the Turks seemed nearby it.

Cloud reached out, taking Tifa's hand, squeezing it gently. "We'll go and get Shelke, then we can start to be a real family again. At least we know Denzel will look after Marlene."

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa nodded, reaching out to embrace Cloud again. A softer embrace this time, just resting against him with one arm wrapped loosely around his waist.

"Yeah... Shelke... She's like a daughter to us? Like Denzel and Marlene? What's she like, Cloud? I don't want to find her and feel like I don't know her at all."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud leaned back against the wall, curling his arms around her shoulders, his chin settling on the top of her head. "Shelke is... complicated. She's nineteen, but her body is that of a nine year old." Cloud wasn't sure how to explain the rest. Vincent was the one who'd gone in and discovered it all first hand.

"She belonged to an organisation called Deepground. It was... a horrible group. They attacked Kalm about a year after the deal with the Remnants." He sighed softly, remembering how horrible it had felt when only a year after their last disaster another came along. "Vincent did a lot of work to bring them down; we all helped in our own ways... and Shelke was freed. She was allowed to be Shelke again, instead of just a... vessel for Lucrecia Cresent's memories."

It was a difficult story, and there were still parts he had to ask Shelke about. It had only been a few weeks since she'd started living with them, after all. "She hasn't been living with us long. Just a few weeks... but she's fitting in well. She's very serious and formal... but sometimes you see the child in her, which is nice."

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa blinked. She'd expected to hear that Shelke was another orphan - no doubt with a sad story, but not particularly different from many children in Edge. If it wasn't Cloud telling her all this, she might have thought this was a crazy joke.

"Wow... That's some story. What do you mean, a vessel?"

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

"It's... hard to explain. Shelke will be able to tell you properly." He shook his head only to look down at Tifa a moment later, brushing back some of her dark hair with his leather clad fingertips. Without expectations or warnings, Cloud spoke again, right from his heart, "I missed you, Tifa."

He wanted to kiss her, but maybe that was too forward in the bar. Either way, he was content to just hold her against him.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa gazed into his bright blue eyes. "I missed you too."

She felt drawn to close the remaining distance between them, to kiss him, but she suddenly became acutely aware that they weren't alone. Her cheeks reddened as she looked around. This wasn't the place for a private conversation.

"Let's go to your room."

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud gave a single nod, curling his hand around Tifa's. He led her to his room, remaining silent the entire time. It almost felt like they were teenagers sneaking into his room, but he hadn't felt truly like a kid since before Zack died. Before Nibelheim. Possibly before even then.

Once inside, Cloud removed his weapon, setting it against the wall and turning to look at Tifa with a soft, awkward smile.

"Can... can I ask you something?"

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Once in his room, Tifa removed her gloves and boots before sitting down on the bed with a soft sigh. She looked up at Cloud.

"What is it?"

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

"...what are we? I mean, I've been through this conversation with you, but you haven't been through it with me..." He covered his face with his hand, sighing slightly.

"You understand, right? The whole year of time... a lot happened in that year."

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

She could feel her heart fluttering. This could be either good or bad. Good, surely... He'd been wonderful with her, more openly affectionate - everything she'd hoped their relationship would develop into.

"Do you mean... The year you had that I didn't... did something change between us?"

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

"Yeah..." He rubbed the back of his neck before crossing to her, cupping her face gently in his gloved hands. Were he more outgoing, a little more like Zack, he'd have kissed her. And kissed her. And never let go. However, Cloud was a little shyer than that, so he simply looked at her.

For a long moment, his eyes were almost unblinking on her face. "...I told you before... well, I'll tell you in your future. You're..." Cloud looked away, a blush crossing his cheeks. All the courage in the world to face Sephiroth and he felt like he was about to throw up just doing this. Maybe that extra year was important. Maybe Tifa needed that extra year of growth to feel the way he did. Maybe he was being a coward... "You're the most important person in my life... you understand, right?"

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa's heart thudded so loudly, she felt sure that he must be able to hear it. "Cloud. Of course I do."

He might still be a little shy, but his words gave her courage. She slowly closed the distance between them, her lips touching his.

[loveandstrife.livejournal.com]

Cloud felt himself smile a little at the feeling of her lips on his. It had felt like this the first time, and when he'd told her how he felt in his time, but the fact that the missing year of time meant nothing and that she still felt that way was the icing on the cake.

Returning her kiss with a little more confidence than usual, he curled his arms around her, holding her close and tight.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa leaned into his embrace, kissing him back with an intensity born of their forced separation. It was so good to have him back.